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DIAMOND HEAD Guitarist Discusses 'To The Devil His Due' DVD

DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler recently spoke to writer Greg Prato about the group's new DVD, "To the Devil His Due", due in North America on November 21 via MVD Visual.

"To the Devil His Due" was recorded at London's Astoria theatre on November 4, 2005, and features a mixture of classic tracks and new material. It is the first DIAMOND HEAD DVD to feature singer Nick Tart, who made his debut on 2005's critically acclaimed album "All Will Be Revealed".

Brian Tatler on why they decided to release a live DVD now:

"Well, it is the first-ever DIAMOND HEAD DVD. It's a shame we never did one before, but the band had either stopped or was going through some problems and so when the opportunity came up we grabbed it. As DIAMOND HEAD never toured America, it is a chance for anyone who likes the band to see us live for the first time. It has all the classics on there — 'Am I Evil?', 'The Prince', etc. All four songs covered by METALLICA are on there, obviously."

On his favorite songs from the performance:

"I like the start — 'Am I Evil?' (intro) going into 'It's Electric'. That was Dave Mustaine's [MEGADETH] idea. And it's nice to hear 'Streets of Gold' again; we had not played that live since 1981. Also the new songs stand up well to the older ones."

About his playing on the DVD:

"I had prepared for the gig by going through all the songs at home for a couple of weeks before. I wanted to not have to worry about any tricky bits and concentrate on performing. It pays to be prepared,. I always do warm-up exercises, even if i am going to practice. I think it really helps, and it probably avoids any damage you could do to your hand. I like to work out solos for a record and then I try to play the solos the same as the record, usually. I am not one for improvising solos. I have played some terrible gigs where I could not hear myself or the monitors only had distorted bass guitar in them. I have slipped over onstage and fractured my elbow and even had amps blow up, so you never know what is going to happen on the night."

On his other memories of shooting the DVD:

"It was very nice to finally get some copies through the post. It was almost a year from filming it November 2005 'till I got copies in July 2006. The studio footage looks OK. We did that at Great Linford Manor in September 2004 when we were recording the album 'All Will Be Revealed'. Little did we know at that time that we would be out on tour with MEGADETH the following February. That tour was amazing — Dave and the crew were so helpful to us, we were spoiled. We got to play 22 sold-out shows. Awesome, dude!"

DIAMOND HEAD is currently working on its new studio album, "What's In Your Head?", tentatively due in early 2007. The new CD is shaping up to be "a powerful but varied collection of songs," according to a posting on the group's web site. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "This Planet and Me" (which is said to be "an immediate favorite"), "Nothing to Lose" ("an hypnotic track with great lyrics from [singer] Nick Tart"), and the "Reign Supreme" ("the heaviest track DIAMOND HEAD have recorded since 'Am I Evil?'").

Karl Wilcox recorded all the drums for "What's In Your Head?" at his home studio in Los Angeles. According to a posting on the band's web site, "The neighbors called in the cops because of the noise — anyone who has heard Karl play will know that he is one of the most powerful drummers in the world!"

Dave Nicholls is the recording engineer and producer with guitarist Brian Tatler. Dave recently recorded the SLIPKNOT live album, and has also worked with THE WILDHEARTS. He is on tour with STONE SOUR during the next few months, so recording with DIAMOND HEAD will resume in January 2007.

Commented the band: "Brian and Nick have spent months writing these songs and all you fans will be thrilled with the results. We believe this will be the album DIAMOND HEAD have always threatened to make. What 'All Will Be Revealed' promises, 'What's In Your Head?' delivers — and then some!"

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